W. H. Murray

Mountaineering in Scotland (eBook, ePUB)

The first of W.H. Murray's great classics of mountain literature

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

In Mountaineering in Scotland, climber and mountaineer W.H. Murray vividly describes some of the most sought-after and classic British climbs on rock and ice, including the Cuillin Ridge on Skye and Ben Nevis.

The book - written in secret on toilet paper in whilst Murray was a prisoner of war - is infused with the sense of freedom and joy the author found in the mountains. He details the hardship and pleasure wrung from high camping in winter, climbs Clachaig Gully and makes the second winter ascent of Observatory Ridge. Murray recounts his adventures in Glencoe and the mountains beyond - including a terrifying near-death experience at the falls of Falloch.

Murray's first book, Mountaineering in Scotland is widely acknowledged as a classic of mountaineering literature. It inspirational prose - as fresh now as when first published - is bound to make a reader reach for their tent and head for the hills of Scotland. He asserts, 'Seeming danger ensures that on mountains, more than elsewhere, life may be lived at the full.'

This is classic mountain climbing literature at its best.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Vertebrate Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 300
• Erscheinungstermin: 25. August 2015
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781910240281
• Artikelnr.: 44773991

Autorenporträt

W.H. Murray was a Scottish mountaineer, writer and conservationist. Born in Liverpool in 1913, he grew up in Glasgow and began climbing in the mid-1930s, soon making numerous trips to Glen Coe and Ben Nevis. Captivated by winter climbing, he made a number of first ascents and early repeats of classic routes in the area. War interrupted Murray's climbing: 'To me and everyone I knew at the time, mobilisation spelled the ruin of everything we most valued in life.' Joining the Highland Light Infantry, he served as a captain in the Western Desert before being captured. A quote from Mountain magazine from 1979 describes the moment after his capture: 'To my astonishment, he [the German tank commander] forced a wry smile and asked in English, 'Aren't you feeling the cold?' ... I replied 'cold as a mountain top'. He looked at me, and his eyes brightened. 'Do you mean - you climb mountains?' He was a mountaineer. We both relaxed. He stuffed his gun away. After a few quick words - the Alps, Scotland, rock and ice - he could not do enough for me.' It was during his time in prison camps that he wrote his first book, Mountaineering in Scotland, using the only paper available to him - toilet paper. The Gestapo discovered and destroyed his first draft but, undeterred, Murray simply started again. After the war Murray lived and worked as a writer in Argyll. Mountaineering in Scotland was published in 1947 and hailed as a masterpiece Four years later came a companion volume dealing with his post-war climbs - Undiscovered Scotland. In the post-war years Murray took a major part in several Himalayan expeditions, most noticeably as a member of Eric Shipton's 1951 Everest Reconnaissance Expedition which explored the lower part of the route later used by the successful 1953 expedition. Murray was awarded an OBE in 1966, to go with numerous other awards which included the Mungo Park Medal of the Royal Geographical Society and honorary doctorates from the universities of Stirling and Strathclyde.